[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 166 (Friday, August 27, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46908-46909]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-22320]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6429-6]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Industry Detailed Questionnaire: Phase II 
Cooling Water Intake Structures

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 
et seq.), this document announces that the following Information 
Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for review and approval: Industry Detailed 
Questionnaire: Phase II Cooling Water Intake Structures, EPA ICR No. 
1838.01. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and 
its expected burden and cost; and in this case, it includes the actual 
data collection instrument.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before September 27, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sandy Farmer at EPA by phone at (202) 
260-2740, by email at [email protected], or download a copy of the 
ICR off the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/icr and refer to EPA ICR No. 
1838.01.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Industry Detailed Questionnaire: Phase II Cooling Water 
Intake Structures (EPA ICR No. 1838.01). This is a new collection.
    Abstract: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA'') 
(44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.), this notice announces the submission of an 
Information Collection Request (ICR) entitled, ``Industry Detailed 
Questionnaire: Phase II Cooling Water Intake Structures'', from the 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the ``Agency'') to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. EPA 
requests approval to conduct a survey of facilities potentially subject 
to section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act (CWA), 33 U.S.C. 1326(b). 
Section 316(b) provides that any standard established pursuant to 
sections 301 or 306 of the CWA and applicable to a point source shall 
require that the location, design, construction, and capacity of 
cooling water intake structures reflect the best technology available 
(BTA) for minimizing adverse environmental impact. Such impacts occur 
as a result of impingement (where fish and other aquatic life are 
trapped on technologies at the entrance to cooling water intake 
structures) and entrainment (where aquatic organisms, eggs, and larvae 
are taken into the cooling system, passed through the heat exchanger, 
and then pumped back out with the discharge from the facility). The 
detailed industry questionnaire is the second step of a two-step 
regulatory information collection effort. The screener questionnaire 
represented the first step. On December 24, 1998, OMB approved the 
Industry Screener Questionnaire: Phase I Cooling Water Intake 
Structures (OMB number 2040-0203). EPA will use the information 
collected from the detailed questionnaire to better characterize the 
design, location, construction, capacity, and operation of cooling 
water intake structures at facilities throughout the United States and 
to assess economic impacts from any regulatory effort affecting those 
facilities. The baseline technical data will help EPA frame regulatory 
options and define further research needs regarding the relationship of 
cooling water intake structures, intake technologies, and environmental 
impacts. The survey will also collect economic data on facility 
ownership, major activities, markets and finances. The Agency will use 
this information to assess facility-level and firm-level impacts of 
complying with the proposed cooling water intake structure regulations. 
In order to fully evaluate costs associated with a proposed section 
316(b) regulation, EPA will consider the costs associated with 
performing section 316(b) demonstration studies, additions

[[Page 46909]]

and modifications to cooling water intake structures and equipment, and 
operating and monitoring costs associated with the regulation. The 
economic data will also enable EPA to carry out required economic 
analyses, including a Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA), cost/benefits 
analyses, and adverse impact analyses on small business entities. EPA 
is developing proposed regulations implementing section 316(b) of the 
Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1326(b) pursuant to a Consent Decree entered 
on October 10, 1995. EPA has the authority to collect this information 
under section 308 of the CWA (33 U.S.C. 1318). Accordingly, responses 
to the detailed questionnaire are mandatory. In accordance with 40 CFR 
part 2, subpart B, section 2.203, the survey will inform respondents of 
their right to claim information as confidential. The survey provides 
instructions on the procedures for making Confidential Business 
Information (CBI) claims, and the respondents will also be informed of 
the terms and rules governing protection of CBI obtained under the CWA. 
An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to 
respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently 
valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA's regulations 
are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and 48 CFR Chapter 15. The Federal Register 
document required under 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting comments on this 
collection of information was published on 1/26/98 (63 FR 3738); 363 
comments were received. Based on these comments and the pretest 
results, EPA significantly modified the questionnaire.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for the detailed questionnaire is estimated to average 156 hours 
per response. The public reporting and recordkeeping burden for the 
Short Technical Industry Questionnaire, the Watershed Case Study Short 
Questionnaire, and the Voluntary and Supplemental Information 
Questionnaire is estimated to average 10 hours per response. Burden 
means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by 
persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide 
information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time needed 
to review instructions; develop, acquire, install, and utilize 
technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, and 
verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and 
disclosing and providing information; adjust the existing ways to 
comply with any previously applicable instructions and requirements; 
train personnel to be able to respond to a collection of information; 
search data sources; complete and review the collection of information; 
and transmit or otherwise disclose the information.
    Respondents/Affected Entities: Traditional Steam Electric 
Utilities, Nonutility Power Producers, and Manufacturing Facilities.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,836.
    Frequency of Response: One-time submission.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 128,736 hours.
    Estimated Total Annualized Cost Burden (non-labor costs): $13,635.
    Send comments on the Agency's need for this information, the 
accuracy of the provided burden estimates, and any suggested methods 
for minimizing respondent burden, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques to the following addresses. Please 
refer to EPA ICR No. 1838.01 in any correspondence.

Ms. Sandy Farmer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of 
Policy, Regulatory Information Division (2137), 401 M Street, SW, 
Washington, DC 20460; and
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th Street, NW, 
Washington, DC 20503.

    Dated: August 23, 1999.
Richard T. Westlund,
Acting Director, Regulatory Information Division.
[FR Doc. 99-22320 Filed 8-26-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P